1. Technical Field
Various embodiments include a method and system for executing an internet radio application. More particularly, the various embodiments include executing an internet radio application from a vehicle.
2. Background
Typically, applications stored on a portable device (such as a mobile phone) require tactile commands to accomplish one or more operations of the application. For example, if a user desires to operate an internet radio application on his or her portable device, he or she may be required to physically input which stations and/or genres of music they want to listen to from his or her portable device keypad. An exemplary internet radio application known in the art is the Pandora application distributed by Pandora Media, Inc. Furthermore, applications on a portable device may require the user to visually receive outputs from the application in order to operate the application. What is desired is a way for a user to operate one or more applications from a portable device using hands-free access in order to enable safe driving for the user.
An internet radio application is an exemplary application which a user may desire to operate using hands-free accessibility from his or her portable device. Various embodiments of an internet radio are present in the art. One exemplary environment in which a user may want to operate the internet radio application is in his or her vehicle equipped with the SYNC communications system manufactured and distributed by the Ford Motor Company.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,094 issued to Boys discloses a mobile wireless internet portable radio. The Internet-capable radio has a communication port for connection to a modem and a connection function for connecting to the Internet upon user initiation while connected to the modem. The radio also had sound circuitry for rendering audio data packets received over the Internet as analog audio output and for delivering the audio output to one or more speaker ports. Two or more stored hyperlinks addressing Internet broadcast servers are also present and a user input adapted to enable a user to select among the stored hyperlinks. Selection of one of the stored hyperlinks by the user input invokes the hyperlink and connects the radio to the server addressed by the hyperlink, initiating an audio data stream as data packets from the broadcast server to the radio. The radio renders the data stream as analog audio data delivered to the one or more speaker ports. The user input has a plurality of pushbuttons associated with hyperlinks, which can be asserted by activating a pushbutton. A directory server is used for editing user profiles and programming connected Internet-capable radios.
US Publication Number 2002/0072326 to Qureshy et al discloses an intelligent radio. The intelligent radio apparatus is adapted to receive Web radio broadcasts. The Web Radio provides a user interface that is less like a computer program and more like a conventional radio. The intelligent radio provides familiar radio-type user controls such as switches, a tuning knob, joysticks, cursor controls, and voice activated controls. The radio-type user controls allow the user to select a Web radio station and control other aspects of the operation of the intelligent radio in a manner that is more like a conventional radio and less like a computer program. The intelligent radio is configured to run software needed to access the Internet. The intelligent radio also provides Internet telephony, voicemail, and voice-email capabilities.